


one step closer, getting brighter

by hardgores



Category: Monster High
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, Healing, Identity Issues, Implied/Referenced Underage Drinking, Self-Esteem Issues, heath-centric fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-24
Updated: 2019-08-24
Packaged: 2020-09-25 05:43:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20371651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hardgores/pseuds/hardgores
Summary: Heath Burns is a blank slate, unsure of himself and trying to see where he went wrong.He is a monster made of fire, a trickle of chaos, and... well, not much else.





	one step closer, getting brighter

Heath Burns is a troublemaker.

He is a monster made of fire and chaos (and, occasionally, other things, though he’s not sure what else he’s trying to be made up of, right _now_), and it would simply be false advertising if he refused to indulge in his chaotic side every here and again.

So he walks into school with a whooping cheer and promptly sets the library on fire not ten minutes after, and lands himself in three months’ worth of detention before he can even tell anyone it was because he had been scared of the spider on the shelf and forgot that, when afraid, he was quite prone to bursting into flames.

(Because Heath _does_ get afraid, you know.)

Spectra posts about it on her blog, posts a photo of his face among the ashes of the library, and before he knows it, he’s getting nothing but dirty looks and grumbles when he passes in the halls — and even Headmistress Bloodgood has picked up on something being wrong when he nearly walks right into her horse after blanking out for who knows how long by himself.

And, _no_, _none_ of it is something he wants.

But Heath is also egotistical, and has a reputation of _chaotic bad boy _to uphold, so, really, even after the Headmistress had given him a chance to explain, had asked him what he had been doing (because he didn’t seem to be taking very much pride in the matter _now_, she seemed to want to continue, but left unsaid instead) — and when his response was just to give a lackadaisical shrug and smirk and tell her it was just a _prank_, ma’am, _just a prank_, and _besides_, no one was even _reading_ those _dusty old books_ anyway!, and watches her expression contort from concern to outrage in just the span of a few wordy seconds — he knows it’s his own fault he’ll spend the next three months cleaning the catacombs and mopping ever-dirty floors. 

* * *

Heath Burns is the life of the party!

He is a monster made of fire, chaos, and _coolness_, and is an absolute icon for the partying scene. With hair that lights up and a magnetic attraction to the dance floor, it’s no wonder he finds himself so drawn to the centre of a crowded room, breaking it down to the DJ’s tunes, or chatting up a ghoul by the punch table.

But a party scene means that, sometimes, his bad influence of a friend will pull him aside and whisper into his ear, and he slips a stolen vial into his pocket as he leaves, and Heath has to smile and nod and pretend that this is exactly what _he_ wanted too, because that’s how coolness and tight friendships _work_.

His hands are shaking, threatening to catch fire then and there, as he tips its contents into the punch bowl and inconspicuously tosses the empty vial away, but Heath is the _life of the party_ right now, and will do whatever he can to make it more of a _thrill_. And if that means there’s going to be a bit of surprise intoxication among its guests in just a few more glasses — if it means he watches Draculaura stumble off-balance and drop her glass mid-sip, watches her trip over herself running out looking all too woozy and too pale even for a vampire, watches her ghouls follow on her heels and never return for the rest of the night — then _maybe_ that’s just the price one pays to have a good time around here.

* * *

Heath Burns is a flirt, and an experienced, ghoul-getting machine.

He is a monster made of fire, chaos, and everything _hot_ — a body and mind created from flame, though with barely any room left for a working brain, some would argue. He doesn’t mind — doesn’t _think_ he minds — because it means there’s simply more space for his sizeable ego and his fantastic _charm with the ghouls_.

Well, _he_ thinks his charm is fantastic, but when the twelfth _“What’s up, ladies?”_ of the hour is met only with annoyed sighs and rolling eyes, sometimes he has to reconsider. It’s a big shame, truly, that he’s so unpopular with the ladies, because _he_ thinks he’s awesome, funny, and, if he's being honest, something pretty identical to a _full-course meal_ — but sometimes, he really does have to reconsider.

Heath doesn’t _like_ to reconsider, though. He really doesn’t like it, not one bit.

Reconsidering means coming to terms with the possibility that he’s more of a bother than a buddy, a pain than a pal — less the _jokester_, and more... the _joke_. And then...

Then, after reconsidering, comes rebuilding, where the urge to take his personality apart and put it back together (apparently with shoddy tape and tacky glue from the metaphorical normie craft store, because it’s all sure to fall apart in days!) arises.

And then Heath Burns is a blank slate, unsure of himself and trying to see where he went wrong. He is a monster made of fire, a trickle of chaos, and... well, not much else.

* * *

There is a bad situation — _wrong place_ _wrong time _sort of bad situation — and Heath Burns has his behind saved by a ghoul. She’s a very lovely ghoul, one he hasn’t seen around before — and she doesn’t seem to hate him instantly, which is already a win in his book.

She smiles at him, even if one of her eyebrows raises and she seems a bit confused — but it’s, in fact, a _real_ smile, which makes his eyes light up and something spark bright within him.

It’s an unusual feeling. He likes it.

Or, he thinks he likes it, until someone points out that, look everyone! — Heath Burns was saved by a _girl_, Heath Burns is _weak_ — and is absolutely an acceptable target for the boys’ crude jokes and inconsiderate pranks now.

So when she offers her hand to him, a toothy smile on her lips, Heath ignores it with a scoff and shoves past her instead.

It’s cold, where his shoulder made contact with her skin. He doesn’t want it to go away.

**Author's Note:**

> Hihi! I sat down and wrote this first chapter all in one go, so we’re all “no betas, we die like men” up in here! Heath Burns is a character I deeply adore, and I have a lot of fun trying to see all the directions I can take his character, aaaand I’m sorry that you all got to see him go down the sad route this time.
> 
> On the bright side — with Abbey about to enter the picture, things will get better for this flame boy!
> 
> Comments and kudos are adored — thank you for stopping by!


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